Publisher: Dynamite Comics
Writer: Fred Van Lente
Artist: Cory Smith
Release Date: 9th April 2014

After reading the first issue of Magnus Robot Fighter, I’ll admit my interest was piqued. The story of a man being ripped from his world and thrown into another where robots rule with a strong arm and humans are the strangers is a somewhat unique story. However, upon finishing issue two, I don’t believe I will continue to see where Magnus’ story goes.

The artwork is the only part of the book where I have no major complaints. Cory Smith creates this dystopian world well. The robots, while not highly detailed, are distinguishable enough from one another and serve their purposes. Unfortunately, that is about the only positive thing I can say about this book. Fred Van Lente’s writing for this issue lacked depth and intelligence on several levels. The story came across as flat and predictable. It moved along at a quick pace, but I’m not sure if that was intentional or simply because it was such a weak plot line.

And finally, the addition of a decommissioned robot that speaks in what I guess you could politely call ‘Ebonics’ was the final nail in the coffin, taking me completely out of a story that I was already losing interest in. I still believe that the concept of the character and the story are interesting and would make for good comics but the writing on this particular issue just didn’t do it for me in the slightest.

Rating: 1/5.

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The writer of this piece was: Shane Hoffman (aka “Hoff”)
You can also find Hoff on Twitter.